Garment marking machine



Feb. 27, 1962 P. N. BRAUN GARMENT MARKING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 30, 1961 INVENTOR PHILIP N. BRAUN HIS ATTORNEY.

Feb. 27, 1962 P. N. BRAUN GARMENT MARKING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 30, 1961 INVENTOR PHILIP N. BRAUN, 5 4

HIS ATTORNEY.

Feb. 27, 1962 P. N. BRAUN GARMENT MARKING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 30, 1961 INVENTOR W Y? A E R m B m N T W A u. B W H t t c 9 rec strain r ntea -Q W t i Q. s

. first stop means for latching the pusher in its rearward- 3,622,711

GARMENT MARKiN-G MAQHHNE Philip N. Braun, 237 Ptohineau Road, dyracuse, N.Y. Filed .ian 39, 196i, Eer. No. 85,743 3 @iaims. Ci. 93-88) In my co-pending applications, Serial No. 839,474, filed September 11, 1959, and Serial No. 849,248, filed October 28, 1959, there is disclosed a machine for attaching identification tags to garments, or the like. The machine operates to feed a strip of tape having four tag forming portions thereon toward a tag aflixing station. The first three tag forming portions on the tape strip are successfully afiixed to garments and severed from the remainder of the tape strip. The last tag forming portion is termed a master tag and is attached to an invoice, or the like, in order to match the garments in a bundle to the invoice after completion of the laundering or dry cleaning operation on the garments. It has been found that the machines disclosed in the co-pending applications are defective in certain respects. For example, the machines and tape strips therefor, can only be used to mark the garments of a bundle no more than three garments therein. Experience has indicated that the tape strip should be formed with at least five tag forming portions plus an additional master tag forming portion which is to be attached to the invoice. In addition, with the the machines disclosed in the co-pending applications, it was found that the operator often-times inadvertently affixed the master tag to a garment, thus, leaving no tag to be afixed to the invoice.

Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to provide a new and improved garment marking machine of the type referred to.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a garment marking machine of the type referred to wherein the feed means for the machine operates to alert the operator thereof when the last tag forming portion of the tape strip has been aflixed to a garment so as to prevent the master tag forming portion from being afiixed to a garment.

The invention consists in the novel features and in the combinations and constructions hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In describing this invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawings in which like characters designate corresponding parts in all the views.

In the drawings- FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the tape strip used by the machine comprising the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a front view of the machine with parts omitted for purposes of clarity.

FTGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the machine shown in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a portion of the operating mechanism of the invention, and

FIGURE 5 is a perspective View showing the operating mechanism of FIGURE 4.

Briefly descri ed, the invention comprises a garment most position in said track, second stop means for halting the movement of said pusher in said track intermediate its ends, said second stop means operating to halt any further feed of the tape strip after the last tag forming portion has been attached to the garment and releasable means operable when actuated to release said pusher from said second stop means to cause the master tag to be fed to the tag affixing station, said release means operating to simultaneously deactivate the severing means whereby to permit the master tag and the remainder of the tape strip to be afiixed to the garment and removed from the machine.

FIGURE 1 shows a tape strip, generally indicated by the reference numeral 15 having a plurality of tag forming portions 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 formed thereon for afiixing to garments. As shown, the tag formingportions are imprinted with a top series of numbers 18 for indicating the lot number, for example, and a bottom series of numbers 20 for indicating the bundle number, as is well understood in the art. A master tag forming portion 22 is also provided on the tape strip 10 which is connected to the remainder 24 of the tape strip. The master tag forming portion 22 is intended to be affixed to the invoice, as previously set forth. As will "be apparent, the tape strip 16 may be used to mark as many as five garments as well as the invoice with the lot and bundle numbers.

FIGURE 2 shows the machine which comprises the preferred embodiment of the invention for feeding the tape strip 10 to the tag afiixing station. The machine comprises a frame having a bottom wall 26, side walls 28 and 30, and a top cover 32. A plurality of feet 34 are affixed by any suitable means to the bottom wall 26.

The tag affixing mechanism is mounted in the machine on the bottom wall 26 and may take any form such as that shown for example in my co-pending application No. 839,474 to which reference may be made for a more complete disclosure of the tag affixing apparatus. The apparatus includes a frame assembly having a bottom plate 36 and side plates 38 and 40 which carry the main shaft 42 thereby on which the garment supporting arm 43 (see FIGURE 3) is mounted for oscillation. The side wall 38 has a stop member 44 carried thereby by means of the arm 46 which is pivotally mounted on the wall 38. As is more fully described in application No. 839,474, the stop 44 functions to halt the feed of the tape strip 10 in juxtaposition over the tag affixing means which may take the form of a stapler, for example. The tape strip Iii is fed to the tag afiixing means or tag affixing station by the mechanism shown on the left-hand side of the machine in FIGURE 2. This mechanism comprises a track member 5% which is supported by means of a bracket 52 mounted on the side wall 349 of the machine.

The track Si is formed with a V-shaped groove 54 (see FIGURE 3) in which the tape strip 10 is received and a pusher mechanism, generally indicated by the reference numeral 55, is slideahly mounted in the track to feed the tape strip to the tag affixing station. The pusher 56 is identical in form to that shown in application No. 849,248 and as is disclosed therein, operatesunder the influence of a counter-weight 58 which is mounted on the line 69 connected at one end to a fixed point 62 and is entrained over a wheel 64 and the opposite end of the line 60 is connected to the arm 66 of bracket 68 mounted on the plate 70 of the pusher 56, all whereby the pusher is normally urged forwardly in the track 50 under the influence of the weight 58. The tape strip 10 passes through a block 72 which is formed with a slot 74 for the passage of the strip 10 and the block 72 is formed with a stationary knife edge which cooperates with a moving knife edge, as will be hereinafter described, to

permit the tag forming portions to be successively severed from the tape strip. As previously described, the move ment of the tape strip 10 is halted by the stop 44. v I

The movable knife edge is best seen in FIGURES 4 and 5 and is indicated by the reference numeral 76 and is formed on the vertical leg of an L-shaped link 78 pivotally mounted as at 88 to the block 72. The outer end of the upper leg of link 78 is pivotally connected as at 82 to an actuating link 84 of the type more particularly described in application No. 839,474. As described in that application, the arm 84 is formed at its lower end with a pair of slots 86 and 88. The garment supporting arm 43 has a bracket 90 mounted on its rearward end and .the bracket 90 carries a pin 92 which is received in the common portion 94 of the slots 86 and 88 which intersect at their upper end. Normally, by reason of the leaf spring 96 which is mounted on the bracket 98 carried in the frame of the machine, the arm 84 is urged to a position where the pin 92 will move downwardly in the slot 86 when the garment arm 43 is oscillated to bring the-garment carried thereby into engagement with the tag aflix ing mechanism. The pin 92 will engage the bottom of slot 86 and cause the arm' 78 to be oscillated about the pivot 80 so as to sever the forwardmost tag forming por tion from the tape strip after that port-ion has been afilxed to a garment.

After all of the tag forming portions have been used and it is desired to affix the master tag 22 to an invoice, the arm 109 which is pivotally mounted as at 182 to the side frame member 38 is pushed forwardly to the dashed line position indicated in FIGURE 5. This moves the connecting arm 104 forwardly so as to oscillate a second connecting link 106 in order to partially rotate the shaft 108 journalled in the side frame members 38 and 40. The shaft 108 is formed with an enlarged portion 110 intermediate its ends on which a finger 112 is mounted whereby when the shaft 108 is partially rotated in the counter-clockwise direction, as seen in FIGURES 4 and 5, the finger 112 moves the arm 84 forwardly to place the slot 88 in register'y with the pin 92 whereby oscillation of the garment supporting artn 43 will cause the pin 92 to move downwardly in the slot 88. As is described in application No. 839,474, by virtue of the fact that the slot 88 is longer than the slot 86, this renders the knife edge 76 inoperative whereby the master tag 22 is not severed from the remainder of the tape strip 24 so that both portions may be removed from the machine after the master tag portion 22 has been aflixed to a garment.

In order to prevent the operator of the machine from inadvertently affixing the master tag 22 to a garment, a secondary stop has been provided to halt the feed of the tape strip after the tag forming portions 12 to 16, inclusive, have been severed from the tape strip 10. This strip is so positioned as to halt the feed so that the master tag 22 is positioned behind the movable knife edge 76. Accordingly, when this condition occurs the operator is alerted to the fact that the master tag 22 of the remainder of the tape 24 are to be aii-lxed to the invoice.

The second stop for halting the feed of the tape strip is best seen in FIGURE 5 and comprises an arm 12% formed at its forward portion with a hook 122 and a tapered surface 12 The tapered surface 124 serves to permit the depending arm 66 on the pusher 56 to move the hook 122 out of position as the pusher is moved to the left to return it to its rearwardmost position in the track 50. Accordingly, the arm 129 is pivotally mounted at its rearward end as at 126 and a pin 1 8 is received in an elongated slot formed in the arm 1249 in order to limit the movement of the arm 120.

The pivot pin 126 is mounted on the horizontal leg of an L-shapcd arm 130 which is pivotally mounted as at 132 to a bracket 134 mounted on the track 50. The vertical leg portion of the arm 30 is formed with a rearwardly extending ear 136 which is pivotally connected as at 138 to an actuating link 14s. The link 140 is pivota-lly connected as at 142 at its lower end to a link mem her 14 aifixed to an enlarged portion 146 formed on the end of the shaft 183, all whereby when the arm is moved in the direction of the dashed arrow to oscillate the shaft 188 in the counter-clockwise direction, the arm is moved to the dashed line position to move the hook 122 out of engagement with the depending arm 126 to permit the master tag 22 to be fed through the block 72 to the tag athxing station. Simultaneously therewith, as previously described, the severing mechanism is rendered inoperative whereby the master tag 22 and the remainder of the tape strip 24 may be removed from the track 50 after the tag forming portion 22 has been affixed to the garment.

In operation, the slide pusher 56 is moved to the left of the track 58 into its rearwardmost position, as best seen in FIGURE 2, and this operates a first stop to latch the pusher 56 in this position, as is described in my copending application No. 849,248. Thereafter insertion of the tape strip in the track deflects the pin 150 to release the stop 56, as described in application No. 849,248. The pusher 56 under the influence of the weight 58 serves to successively present the tag forming portions 12 through 16 at the tag aihxing station where they are first affixed to a garment carried by the garment arm 43 and then severed from the strip. The pusher 56 is shown in the dashed line position indicated by the reference numeral 152 in one intermediate position. After all of the tag forming portions have been thus afiixed to garments, the pusher 56 is halted in the dashed line position, indicated by reference numeral 154, by means of the second stop member 120 to alert the operator to aflix the master tag 22 to an invoice. After the operator has placed an invoice in position to so aifix the tag 22, the arm 100 is depressed, as previously described, and simultaneously releases the second stop 120 and deactivates the knife arm 78.

As best seen in FIGURE 2, the track 50 has been provided with auxiliary release means to release the stop 56 from its rearwardmost position should a tape strip 10 of less than the length shown in FIGURE 1 be positioned in the track 58. For example, if a tape strip of the length shown in my co-pending application No. 839,474 be positioned in the track so that the pin 150 is not depressed by the insertion of the strip, the auxiliary stop means will serve to release the pusher 56. The auxiliary stop means comprises a plate member which is suitably affixed as by screws 162 to a shaft 164, which passes therethrough. The shaft 164 is suitably journalled in a plurality of brackets 166 mounted on the track 50 and the left-hand end of the shaft is connected to a release bracket 168 which passes under the rear of the track 50 for engagement with the lower side of the arm 170 which carries the pin 150 and which is pivotally connected to the track as at 172. As described in my co-pending application No. 849,248, the arm 170 carries the means for latching the stop 56 in its rearwardmost position shown in FIGURE 2 and when the plate 16% is pulled forwardly by the finger of the operator, the shaft 164 and member 168 are partially rota-ted so as to move the arm 170 upwardly in a manner to move the arm 170 clockwise, as viewed in FIG- URE 1, about the pivot 172 to release the pusher 56. A leaf spring 173 is aifixed as at 174 to the track 50 to keep the member 160 in its non-releasing position and the operator must pull the member 160 forwardly against the spring 173 to operate the release mechanism.

What I claim is:

1. A machine for afiixing identification indicia to garments, or the like, including a tag afiixing station, means for afiixing a tag presented at said station to a garment juxtaposed with said tag at said station, means for feeding a tape strip having a plurality of tag forming portions toward said station, said means including a guide track, a feed pusher mounted for movement in said track, means normally urging said pusher along said track to feed said tag forming portions on said tape to said station, a stop positioned adjacent said station to halt the feed of said tape with a tag forming portion positioned at said station, means for afiixing said tag forming portion to a garment and severing said tag forming portion from said tape, first latch means operable to latch said pusher in its rearwardmost position in said guide track, means operable to release said first latch means upon insertion of said tape strip in said track, second latch means operable to halt feed movement of said pusher intermediate the ends of said track, and means operable to simultaneously render the tag severing means inoperable and release said second latch means.

2. The machine of claim 1, wherein said second latch means is positioned to halt the feed of said tape strip with a last tag forming portion remaining on said tape strip whereby to permit said last tag forming portion and the remainder of said strip to be affixed to an invoice or the like after releasing said second latch means and rendering said severing means in operable.

3. The invent-ion of claim 1, wherein said track is provided with auxiliary release means operable when actu- 10 ated to release said pusher from said first latch means.

No references cited. 

